It only took some golden birds
by Vault Of Fanfiction
Summary: I know well that this has been done before, but I wanted to write my own take on how Nate and Flynn met, and more importantly, about their first job together. I personally really love Nate and Flynn and their friendship, no matter how bumpy and troublesome it is.


That day was nothing out of the ordinary. But for two young men this day was the one to change their lives.. quite possibly for good. One of them walked on a street without really looking where he was going, for his gaze was glued on a map and a notebook which he held in his hands. He walked with a nervous pace, not seeing or hearing anything else. Around his neck was a ring, which had quite a story to tell. And at the same time, from the opposite direction approached another man, who was a few years older then the ring bearer. They kept approaching each other, both minding their own business, nothing else. And right before the collision the slightly older man heard the younger mutter something about a job which was quickly turning out to be impossible, and something that he never should've taken, for he didn't know what to do, or even where to start. And then it happened: these two young men bumped straigh into each other, knocking them both off their feet. For the most part it possibly was the younger one's fault, for he had been staring at his notebook, not his surroundings.

"Wow, that was a bloody brilliant job, mate",

the older guy said as he stood back up. The younger one did slowly did the same.

"What? Oh.. yeah, I'm.. uh, sorry. I guess I wasn't really paying any attention to where I was going. I didn't even see you.."

he said rather sheepishly. The other one chuckled.

"Yeah, I could tell that much. But then again, I guess I wasn't paying attention either. So, what are you working on? I heard you mumble something about a job of some kind",

he said, causing the younger man to take a step back.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you.. I don't even know who you are",

he said cautiously. He had all the reasons for his behavior.

"Oh, yeah.. of course, mate. I'm Harry Flynn. But you can just call me Flynn",

the older man said and held out his hand, which the other one slowly took.

"Nathan Drake. I guess you can call me Nate, then",

he said as they shook hands. Little did they know that this was to be the start of something great.. and also a kickstarter for quite a chain of events.

"Pleasure meeting you, Nate",

Flynn said politely.

"But I really meant what I said, I'm curious about this.. job of yours",

he then said.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little more private, and you can tell me all about it?"

he suggested, and Nate gave him a nod.

"Do you even know what you're supposed to look for in that museum, mate? You do know that it's huge, right?"

Flynn asked as he sat opposite of Nate, and tilted his head curiously to the side. Nate shook his head, causing Flynn to let out a slightly amused sigh.

"No.. I mean, not really. My.. contact only said that I'll know what it is when I see it. Which, to be fair, doesn't help much",

Nate complained, looking more frustrated than possibly ever.

"Let me tell you something, mate. First off, this contact of yours seems to be kind of a dick. And secondly, you are in trouble. You clearly don't have the experience required for this line of work. Who even got the idea to give this kind of a job to you? Listen to me, kid: Back off and go home. This is not for you",

Flynn said without being too careful with his words. He saw Nate's expression turn sour and disappointed, but he wasn't too concerned about that.

"I know that you're probably pissed, mate, but listen to me. This kind of thing will get you killed, or at least it'll make sure that you're going to end up in prison. So just give up, get a proper job. You'll never make a fortune as a treasure hunter or whatever, no matter who you are",

Flynn went on.. and finally went silent. Nate just stared at him with a blank expression on his face.

"Unless.."

Flynn continued with his face suddenly lighting up.

"Unless, what?"

Nate couldn't help but ask. Flynn let out a silent laugh.

"Unless you and I become partners. I know quite a lot about these things, believe it or not. Let's just say that I could teach you a thing or two, make sure that you don't get killed. Whatever it is that you're supposed to look for, I could help you find it. We could say hasta la vista to that contact of yours, sell the thingie and split the take two ways. Because, the way I see it, it's going to be a two man job. Or, or uh.. maybe three. We might need someone to handle the getaway. And actually, I happen to know someone. She's one of the best drivers in the business. So, mate, what do you say?"

Flynn finally asked and sounded quite eager to hear what Nate thought about all this. The younger man finally, slowly nodded.

"Okay, I'm in",

Nate said, causing a wide grin to appear on Flynn's face.

"That is brilliant, mate! Okay, here's what where going to do now. I'm gonna go and give the word to our business associate. You go and do whatever you do, keep a low profile. You saw the alley behind this coffee shop, didn't you?"

Flynn asked, and Nate nodded.

"Great. We'll meet there tonight at 9. That sound good to you?"

Nate gave another nod to his new friend and partner in crime.

"Perfect! I'll see you later, mate",

Flynn said. They quickly shook hands, and then he was gone. For a little while Nate just sat there and thought about what would happen later today. To his slight surprise he was now excited about all this. Flynn seemed to know what he was doing. There was no reason for Nate not to trust him.

Hours passed by and the evening fell over the city. Most of the residents returned to their homes.. but not Nate. He made his way back to the little coffee shop he and Flynn had visited a few hours back. Nate felt a slight chill run down his spine as he walked past the building and circled around the back, to the alley Flynn had mentioned. Nate didn't really know what he had gotten himself into, after all he barely even knew Flynn, they'd just met. He could've been lying all along. But no, as Nate walked to the alley, he did see Flynn already waiting for him. He stood next to a van and talked to someone. Nate couldn't see who. As Flynn heard footsteps approaching him, he fell silent for a moment and turned to face Nate.

"Oh, you made it, mate. For a while I already thought that you'd chickened out",

he said, causing Nate to let a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, to be honest.. I thought the same about you",

he said. Flynn laughed.

"I was never going to let you down with this, mate. So, are you ready to meet our partner in crime?"

he asked with a slight glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, sure.."

Nate said, and as he walked closer, one of the van's doors opened and out stepped a beautiful young woman, who's hair was as dark as a night sky.

"Nate, meet Chloe",

Flynn said, and the two shook hands. Chloe nodded confidently to Nate.

"Nate's quite new to the business. But we'll take care of him",

Flynn continued on, and as neither Chloe or Nate tried to resist, he decided to go on with the plan.

"We need to go, we have no time to lose. We'll go over the details on the way."

It didn't take too long for them to arrive at the museum and get to their positions. Chloe waited in the getaway car as Nate and Flynn made their way to the rooftops surrounding the museum.

"Okay.. I think we have probably five minutes or so until the next guards come in for their shift. So we have to be quick about this one",

Flynn said as they stood on the roof almost right next to their destination.

"Have you ever used a grappling hook?"

he asked and was kind of surprised when Nate nodded.

"Yeah.. I had someone to teach me many years back",

he told. Flynn couldn't help but look impressed.

"Okay, that's good, mate. Let's go, we have no time to waste."

And just like that they swiftly made their way to the window and found their way in.

"Okay.. the biggest challenge in all of this.. finding the right thing. Let's be fast and look for something really valuable, okay`"

Flynn asked and Nate gave him a confident nod. Surely all this was going to go just fine. They went their separate ways and started looking for the right artifact.

As they circled around the large room, Flynn eventually felt how his patience started to drain.

"Agh, this is bloody pointless.. How's it looking over there, Nate?"

he asked, and after a short moment of silence and wandering around Nate finally stopped, looked at something and then turned to Flynn, saying:

"Actually I think I found something."

"Oh, really? What is it, then?"

Flynn replied as he started making his way over to where Nate was standing.

"It's like, a golden bird statue, a pretty small one. It's got two diamonds for eyes.. and Flynn, look, there's a bunch of them!"

Nate said.

"Okay, we'll take all of them, then. But we have to hurry, all of this is going way too smoothly. Wait a second while I pick the lock."

Flynn did as he promised, and as the duo opened the glass door, they suddenly heard something they hadn't hoped for. Voices that belonged to the approaching guards.

"Oh, hell.. Hurry up, Nate, put those things in this backpack",

Flynn said hastily and Nate did as he was told.

"Okay, I got them all!"

he soon said, and just in time.

"Good, because we really have to go",

Flynn stated the obvious as he started running towards the window, but soon came to a halt.

"You know, mate, you got the birds. You should go first",

he said to Nate and boosted him up the rope which was still hanging from the window. Nate managed to climb up, and as he was safely on the roof, he turned to Flynn who was still down.

"It's all clear out here but I don't know how long",

Nate said.

"Come on, Flynn!"

Flynn took one more look behind him, and by doing so he noticed something.

"Guns? These bloody idiots have actual guns?"

he muttered to himself, and right as he started climbing up the rope that would get him to safety.. or at least out of the museum and up to the roof, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his shoulder. But despite that Flynn just kept climbing, he had to get out of there so that they could make their escape. And some moments later he got out.

"Phew.. not my smoothest getaway.. Thanks for the heads up, mate",

he said to Nate as they ran into the night, towards the spot where Chloe waited for them with the getaway car.

With the car finally in sight Nate and Flynn quickly jumped on and told Chloe to floor it, as she did.

"So, guys? How'd it go?"

she asked as they drove away.

"We found a flock of golden birds with diamonds in their eyes",

Flynn said with a smirk.

"I don't know what we'll do with them yet, but we'll figure something out. Sure we had some close calls with the stupid guards and their guns, but.. it worked out. I'm not sure if I'd made it out of there without Nate."

After saying so Flynn took a quick look at Nate and said:

"It was good working with you, partner. If you've got nothing against it, I would like to make this a thing. You and me, and Chloe, of course. What do you say, mate? Are you in?"

Nate hesitated for a little while, but had to admit to himself that he had fun with Flynn. Sure it was thrilling but that was part of the case. So he said:

"You got it, Flynn."

Then they shook hands once more. Looked like it only took some golden birds and a couple of close calls to seal their future as partners, as friends.


End file.
